Google Unimpressed by NFL White Spaces Tests

White spaces devices will get their turn in the spotlight Saturday when they are tested at a pre-season football game in Maryland, but white spaces advocate Google said Friday that the results of those tests should not be weighed too heavily.

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White spaces devices will get their turn in the spotlight Saturday when they are tested at a pre-season football game in Maryland, but white spaces advocate Google said Friday that the results of those tests should not be weighed too heavily.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) needs to "put the currently planned field testing at several sporting and entertainment venues into appropriate context," Richard Whitt, Google's Washington telecom and media counsel, wrote in a blog post.

"Regardless of how these tests validate certain technical parameters of spectrum sensing, those venues would be fully protected anyway under Google's March proposal," Whitt wrote. "In particular, standalone use of a geolocation database with a look-up function would offer complete protection to digital TV and wireless microphone signals at major venues."

When broadcasters shift from analog to digital signals in February 2009, there will be open, unregulated spectrum between the digital channels, or white spaces, that Internet companies like Google and Microsoft want to use for wireless broadband service. Broadcasters, however, believe that allowing access to this spectrum could disrupt TV signals.

Among the companies shopping a geolocation based prototype is Motorola. The company said last month that initial outdoor tests in rural areas were successful, as were more recent ones that took place in suburban locations.

"The tests went well," Steve Sharkey, senior director of regulatory and spectrum policy for Motorola, said in a phone interview Thursday. The geolocation-based devices "identified the TV stations in the area and ranked available channels based on environment; it was very reliable."

For those devices that sensed DTV signals, the "devices did pretty well there," Sharkey said. "Not perfect, but it reflected [issues] the FCC had found in the lab. If the FCC decides to use and include sensing [in devices that eventually go to market], at least it gives them a good feel for what they can do to develop certification tests."

Part of the reason the FCC is conducting so many tests is to "understand the interference environment" before giving anything final approval, Sharkey said.

Testing of the Motorola devices has now concluded because they are only set up to test for DTV signals, not wireless microphones, which the upcoming test at the football game, as well as subsequent tests during Broadway shows, will address.

Sports commentators, as well as actors and singers, use these microphones during games and performances, and broadcasters want to ensure that white spaces devices searching for channels will not interfere with the mics.

The FCC is also testing devices from Philips and Adaptrum. They were also testing two devices from Microsoft until they failed during lab tests.

The Google plan touted by Whitt in his blog post is actually modeled after a proposal introduced last fall by Motorola.

Google submitted a white spaces plan to the FCC in December 2007 that endorsed a technology known as spectrum sensing, and the updated March plan also included support for a combination of geolocation services, designed to protect broadcast TV, and beacons, which protect wireless microphones.

"We remain confident that the technical concepts behind spectrum sensing ultimately are sound, so that FCC-certified [white spaces devices] can operate safely and efficiently using this particular protection capability," Whitt wrote Friday.

Verizon on Thursday held a roundtable with reporters, during which Tom Tauke, executive vice president for public affairs, policy, and communications, was asked to address the white spaces issue.

Tauke said that Verizon is in a wait-and-see mode until the FCC releases the results of its testing, though at this point, it appears that no one has passed the test, according to a Verizon spokesman.

In general, Verizon has favored a system of licensed spectrum, Tauke said, but the highest priority has to be that the spectrum is usable and there's no interference.

In March, Verizon spent $9.4 billion on 109 licenses in the FCC's 700 MHz auction. Verizon battled it out against AT&T, Google, and others for licenses to the spectrum, which is considered highly valuable because of its wireless broadband capabilities.

Chloe Albanesius has been with PCMag.com since April 2007, most recently as Executive Editor for News and Features. Prior to that, she worked for a year covering financial IT on Wall Street for Incisive Media. From 2002 to 2005, Chloe covered technology policy for The National Journal's Technology Daily in Washington, DC. She has held internships at NBC's Meet the Press, washingtonpost.com, the Tate Gallery press office in London, Roll Call, and Congressional Quarterly. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism from American University...
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